The endoparasitic wasp Lysiphlebus testaceipes Cresson and the predator, the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, are part of an aphidophagous guild responsible for suppressing greenbug, Schizaphis graminum Rondani, populations on the Southern Plains of the U.S. Lady beetles consume L. testaceipes within their aphid hosts, a competition dynamic known as intraguild predation. Our objective was to examine at what stage parasitized greenbugs are a suitable food source for convergent lady beetles. Third- and 4^thinstar convergent lady beetle larvae were fed limited daily numbers of greenbugs or greenbugs in three stages of parasitism by L. testaceipes. Early stage parasitism diets had little effect on H. convergens, however, compared with a greenbug diet, late-stage parasitism diets reduced ladybeetle survival as much as 54%, delayed development as long as 2.6 days, and reduced adult weight by as much as 2.3 mg (22.5%). Consumption of parasitized aphids reduced parasitoid abundance, but competition for a limited resource (greenbugs) has the potential to significantly reduce fitness of convergent lady beetles.

Stink bugs have recently become an economic pest of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the Brazos River Bottom production area of Texas, but many producers remain uncertain which species are infesting fields. Cotton and nearby maize (Zea mays L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], and soybean [Glycine max (L.)] fields were sampled weekly for stink bugs in 2011 and 2012 to determine the complex of species infesting cotton and identify other crops in which stink bugs may develop and then move to cotton. In total, 12 phytophagous stink bug species were collected among the four crops over both years. Seven species were detected in cotton, but the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and redshouldered stink bug, Thyanta custator acerra McAtee, collectively, accounted for 80 and 96% of the stink bugs found in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The two species also were the most prevalent encountered in soybean and maize over both years. The absence of southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), during both years and absence of green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say), in 2012 are interesting because both species were commonly observed in cotton and soybean fields in years before the initiation of the study. Given the prevalence of brown and redshouldered stink bugs in cotton and relative abundance of both species in soybean and, to a lesser extent, maize, soybean and maize might be late-season sources for stink bugs in cotton.

The southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), is cosmopolitan in distribution and feeds on a multitude of food and fiber crops. It induces abscission of bolls of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and reduces seed cotton yield, gin-turnout, and fiber quality. Also, the bug vectors bacterial and fungal pathogens causing necrosis of the locule and rotting the bolls. Control options are mostly dependent upon and limited to the use of insecticides. Data are needed to assess the toxicity of currently available insecticides and develop baseline mortality data to monitor resistance of the insect to insecticides in Central Texas. We studied the toxicity of selected organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides in a glass-vial bioassay to adult southern green stink bugs captured in blacklight traps. Dicrotophos was six times more toxic than acephate to southern green stink bug. Toxicity of acephate and chlorpyrifos was comparable. The order of toxicity of pyrethroids to southern green stink bug was γ-cyhalothrin > zeta-cypermethrin > λ-cyhalothrin > Cypermethrin > bifenthrin. Mixtures of technicalgrade active ingredients were 4- to 7.5-fold more toxic to southern green stink bug compared to commercially-formulated insecticides. The lesser efficacy of the commercial formulations suggests the active ingredients used in the mixtures failed to potentiate, probably because of lack of additivity or synergism in the composition of active ingredients in the formulations. The inert and other ingredients in the formulations may have played a part as well.

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is the vector of “Huanglongbing” disease. Different insecticides are used to control the vector by a government containment program to prevent dissemination of disease in citrus growing areas in Mexico. Increased selection pressure on field populations can result in resistance to insecticides. The goal of this study was to determine susceptibility baselines in a laboratory strain of Asian citrus psyllid susceptible to 11 insecticides from five toxicological groups and determine diagnostic doses to test in eight populations from Tahiti lime, Citrus latifolia Tan., and Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia Swingle, orchards with different patterns of insecticide use. Resistance ratios were calculated in comparison with data from a susceptible strain in a laboratory in Florida. Most calculated LD₅₀ and LD₉₅ values corresponded well with mortalities caused by diagnostic doses. Asian citrus psyllids from Apatzingan, Michoacan were very resistant to imidacloprid, 4265.6-fold; dimethoate, 106.5-fold; chlorpyriphos, 26.5-fold; and slightly to thiamethoxam, 13.8-fold. At Cofradia de Morelos, Colima, resistance to imidacloprid was 25.6-fold. Resistance to imidacloprid (17.5-fold) and thiamethoxam (12.0-fold) was detected at Cerro de Ortega, Colima. Similar resistance was observed at Tepic, Nayarit, to imidacloprid (13.8-fold) and thiamethoxam (19.3-fold). Psyllids at Casimiro Castillo, Jalisco were resistant to chlorpyriphos (20.6-fold). At El Limon, Jalisco, resistance was found only to thiamethoxam (14.2-fold). Results are similar to those found by Tiwari et al. (2011, 2013) in Florida; however, resistance to neonicotinoids and organophosphates was greater in Asian citrus psyllids in Mexico than those in Florida.

During the spring-summer 2010 and fall-winter 2011 crop cycles, an intensive search was done for fall armyworm larvae, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), in maize (Zea mays L), in the area of Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Larvae with signs of viral infection were chosen for DNA extraction using the method of DNAzol for detection of virus by PCR. Diagnosis of virus was done using a 575-bp fragment of the gene isolation polyhedron from the native baculovirus SfMNPV. Third-instar larvae that tested positive for the virus were inoculum for infectivity bioassays, and the infective dose, median lethal dose, and lethal time were calculated. The prevalence of SfMNPV was 0.7% in autumn-winter 2010 and 2.1% in spring-summer 2011. Infected larvae were found at 43% of the sampling sites throughout an area 20 km² The PCR product (575 bp) of SfMNPV native virus isolate was sequenced (Genbank acc. No. KC845532) and had 99% identity to the SfMNPV polyhedrin gene (Genbank acc. No. J04333.1). The SfMNPV virus infectious titer had an average rate of 10^4.59 ± 10^0.09 DI₅₀/mL and TL₅₀ of 111.56 ± 0.46 hours. By 132 hours post inoculation all infected insects died, showing previous signs of lethargy and anorexia, however the larvae stopped feeding at 84 hours. These results indicated that the virus SfMNPV detected in the surveyed area was an infective agent and potential biological control agent for fall armyworm larvae, so it is necessary to assess virulence in the field.

Monitoring and control programs for yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.), usually do not focus on the egg as a potential target for control. The egg is the most numerous life stage but is invisible to conventional inspection by a sticky pad that attaches it. This laboratory study evaluated the potential ovicidal effect of five commonly used plastics. Plastic liners in oviposition containers were exposed to gravid female mosquitoes in an insectary. The percentage of eggs that hatched was recorded. The plastic liners altered the places where eggs were laid, i.e., 27.0% were glued onto the plastic film, 70.0% remained floating, and 3.0% were submerged. Vinyl blocked most egg adhesion, with a mean of 7.05 ± 10.1 eggs, compared to 170.7 ± 68.6 eggs for the check. Pooled numbers of glued, floating, and submerged eggs showed fewest eggs hatched on vinyl or low-density polyethylene, resulting in the death of 94.7% of the embryos. Plastics waterproofing property might be blocking the hyaluronic acid, the component of the sticky substance of mosquito eggs. Results demonstrated the potential use of plastic strips as an ovicide. Plastics should be studied further for use in community-based programs to control dengue.

The chironomid midge Micropsectra wendigo Taber is described from the western Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Adult males were collected in a Malaise trap in April in a woods with paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall), and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrhart) trees. The new species belongs to a little-studied genus but seems to be most closely related to the flies of the recurvata group.

We examined and compared populations of Synargis nymphidioides (Butler, 1872) from the Pacific slope region in the Sierra Madre del Sur with others from the southern and eastern regions of Mexico. A new endemic subspecies from this region, Synargis nymphidioides praedictum ssp. nov., is described, listed and discussed too other taxa in this geographic area, making it a strong candidate for an endemism center. Such endemism center can predict other unpublished taxa characteristic from evergreen and subcaducifolious forests around the southern Sierra Madre.

Meccus longipennis (Usinger) is one of the most important species involved in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas to human populations in Mexico. It has been reported from 10 Mexican states, including those with zero seropositive human cases of infection by T. cruzi, to one with 120,000. In that distribution area, the percentages of infection by T. cruzi (0–97%) in M. longipennis, as well as the environmental characteristics, are very different. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological parameters related to the life cycle of M. longipennis in populations from localities with different numbers of human infections as well as different environmental conditions. A cohort of each of the three studied peridomestic populations from different areas of Mexico was maintained under similar laboratory conditions and compared with each other. Data related to the life cycle, such as the number of blood meals to molting, mortality rates, egg viability rates, and female fecundity, were recorded. Mean time from first-instar nymph to adult stage, the number of blood meals between molts as well as the mortality rate was greater in the population from Huazamota (Durango, northern Mexico). The female-to-male ratio and fecundity of females per day were similar among populations. The observed egg viability was less for the population from Huazamota than from the other two sites (Presa de los Serna in Aguascalientes State and La Palma from Michoacán State). Based on our results, it is suggested that the population from Huazamota represents a lower risk of vectorial transmission of T. cruzi than the other two populations and that environmental conditions from the site of origin of each population influence the biological parameters of the populations.

The leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) is native to the United States of America and distributed around the world. In the central part of Mexico and Tamaulipas it is considered an economically important pest attacking peppers and chrysanthemums. In addition, in the state of Sinaloa, this pest has been reported in peppers, tomatoes, cucurbits, and other vegetables. Different authors state that L. trifolii becomes a pest when its enemies are eliminated, especially parasites, and also by its resistance to insecticides. In different regions of the world including Mexico, diverse and abundant parasitoid species of the leafminer are considered important options for augmentative and conservation and enhancement biological control. The combined use of low- or reduced-impact insecticides on non-target species and cultural practices might favor populations of parasites. The purpose of this report was to promote the use of developed technologies related to biological control of the leafminer to encourage adoption of these control methods, including conservation and utilization of natural enemies in an integrated pest management program.

To contribute to the knowledge of the myrmecofauna of Mexico and Veracruz State, we conducted collections in soil, litter, and herbaceous-shrubby vegetation using different capture techniques. The specimens were deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Instituto de Ecología (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico). We report for the first time the presence of 21 species and one subspecies for Veracruz State, of which six are new records for Mexico. The number of species known from Mexico increased to 978 and from Veracruz to 331, suggesting that although this state is one of the most studied, its inventory of species is not yet fully known.

Sanchez-Peña (2013) reported an ant species foraging at remarkably low temperature (5°C) in Saltillo, Mexico. The ant was reported to be the known cryophilic formicine ant, Prenolepis imparis Say. However, further revision of these worker ants by Sergio R. Sánchez-Peña and Joe A. MacGown indicated that the ants were a species of the closely related and recently redefined genus Nylanderia (Kallal and LaPolla 2012, MacGown 2013). LaPolla et al. (2010) reviewed the species of the Prenolepis group of ants that includes Nylanderia; Kallal and LaPolla (2012) transferred most Nearctic Paratrechina species to Nylanderia and resurrected and redefined this last genus. Foraging activity at low temperature has rarely been reported for Nylanderia. Thus, the corrected observation indicated that this species of Nylanderia is capable of foraging at low temperatures (5°C), matching the temperature threshold for foraging reported several times for P. imparis (see references in Sanchez-Peña 2013). Further identification of this Nylanderia species is ongoing.